Hervé Niquet

Conductor
Artistic and Musical Director of Le Concert Spirituel

Harpsichordist, organist, pianist, singer, composer, choir master, and conductor all at once, Hervé Niquet is one of the most inventive musical personalities of recent years. He is widely regarded as an eminent specialist in French repertoire, spanning from the Baroque era to Claude Debussy.

He founded Le Concert Spirituel in 1987 with the goal of reviving the French grand motet. Over the past 37 years, the ensemble has established itself as an essential reference in the performance of Baroque repertoire, bringing back to light both well-known and rediscovered works by French, English, and Italian composers of the period.

Guided by this spirit and the principle that French music is a continuous, unbroken tradition across the centuries, Hervé Niquet conducts major international orchestras with which he explores the 19th- and early 20th-century repertoire. These include the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa (Japan), Sinfonia Varsovia, the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, the Orchestre Royal Philharmonique de Liège, the Orchestre national du Capitole and Chœur de l’Opéra national du Capitole, the Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal de Versailles, and many others.

His pioneering spirit in rediscovering works from this period led him to participate in the creation of the Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française in Venice in 2009, an institution with which he spearheads numerous projects.

On the opera stage, he collaborates with directors of diverse aesthetic backgrounds, such as Mariame Clément, Georges Lavaudant, Corinne and Gilles Benizio (alias Shirley and Dino), and Vincent Tavernier.

As Music Director of the Flemish Radio Choir and Principal Guest Conductor of the Brussels Philharmonic from 2011 to 2019, Hervé Niquet was heavily involved in the recording collection of the Prix de Rome cantatas under the aegis of the Palazzetto Bru Zane, as well as in unperformed operas.

In September 2022, Hervé Niquet was appointed Artistic Director of the Festival de Saintes for two seasons.

His work also includes a deep personal commitment to educational initiatives for young musicians (such as the Académie d'Ambronay, the Jeune Orchestre de l'Abbaye aux Dames, or the Early Music Department of the CNSMD de Paris), as well as through numerous masterclasses and lectures. For him, sharing the fruits of his work on interpretation, historical performance conventions, and the latest musicological discoveries—alongside the realities and demands of the musical profession—is essential.

Hervé Niquet is a Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres and a Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite. He has recorded over 170 albums, ranging from Striggio to Reynaldo Hahn, Lully to Poulenc, and Mozart to Brahms.

Over his 40-year career, Hervé has received more than 210 of the most prestigious awards, distinctions, nominations, and prizes.

Conductor Hervé Niquet: A Brief Overview

Some orchestras conducted in recent seasons

• Montreal Symphony Orchestra (Canada)
• Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse (France)
• Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra (France)
• Munich Radio Orchestra (Germany)
• Orchestre National de Lyon (France)
• Brussels Philharmonic (Belgium)
• Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra (Monte-Carlo)

53 Romantic music recordings featuring the following composers

Massenet, Chabrier, Debussy, Fauré, Saint-Saëns, Dukas, Berlioz, Mozart, Gluck, Cherubini, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Poulenc, Gounod, Halévy, Hahn, Franck, David, Gustave Charpentier, Hérold, Martini, Grétry, etc.

Not to mention the hundred or so Baroque music recordings made with Le Concert Spirituel over the past nearly 40 years.

Over 210 prizes, awards, and distinctions since 1987

Edison Award, Grammy Award, Prix Charles-Cros, Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Echo Klassik Awards, Gramophone Editor's Choice, ICMA, The Times, Diapason d'Or, Opéra Magazine Diamant, etc.

Selected operas, including world premieres

Bellini – Norma
Massenet – Thaïs
Bizet – Carmen
Mozart – The Marriage of Figaro / Don Giovanni / The Magic Flute
Thomas – Hamlet
Gounod – Le Tribut de Zamora
Offenbach – La Belle Hélène / Orpheus in the Underworld / La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein
Donizetti – The Daughter of the Regiment
Lecoq – La Fille de Madame Angot
Joncières – Lancelot / Dimitri
David – Herculanum
Halévy – La Reine de Chypre
Grétry – Andromaque / Richard Cœur de Lion / La Caravane du Caire, etc.

And appearances at venues such as

• Théâtre des Champs-Élysées – Paris (France)
• Opéra Comique – Paris (France)
• Capitole de Toulouse (France)
• La Monnaie – Brussels (Belgium)
• Grand Théâtre de Genève (Switzerland)
• Teatro La Fenice – Venice (Italy)
• Theater an der Wien (Austria)
• Philharmonie de Paris – (France)
• BOZAR – Brussels (Belgium)
• Berlin Philharmonie – (Germany)
• Maison symphonique de Montréal – (Canada)
• Concertgebouw – Amsterdam (Netherlands)
• Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall (Japan)
• LG Arts Center – Seoul (South Korea)

 Download Hervé Niquet in brief

Hervé Niquet: Selected Awards & Distinctions

 Download Hervé Niquet: Selected Awards

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Hervé Niquet - Conductor, Artistic and Musical Director of Le Concert Spirituel